My first two weeks in Copenhagen were packed with social events, which allowed me the opportunity to meet new people and build a friend group to do things with. At the start, everyone was just a random character who I would occasionally see at the various events.

One evening I was sat at a table in a bar (after a few rounds had been consumed) with a handful of people I had become more comfortable with, but truthfully still didn’t even know all of their names at that point. Someone in the group was already antsy to take a trip so they asked the table if we would like to take a weekend trip to Gothenburg, Sweden, a place I had never heard of. It was a round of hesitant yeses, but everyone did make a verbal commitment on the spot.

Two days later we slowly appeared one by one to the train station at 7 in the morning, each kind of surprised that everyone actually showed up. We boarded the train and were on our way. The train ride was my first European train experience which I was excited about. The four hours on the train gave us time to start to get to know each other better.

Luckily for the group, we had one travel guru among us who coordinated the logistics of our trip. We arrived to a Radisson Blu hotel, which honestly set the standard of housing way too high for the rest of my study abroad experience.

Gothenburg is a small enough city that allows for casually wandering about and being able to see everything along the way, which was perfect for us to work through over the course of two and a half days. Gothenburg possesses a charming small European town feeling, with cobblestone streets lined with cafes, shops, pubs, and galleries. We ventured into the Volvo Museum (much cooler than anticipated), the museum of fine art, and lots of cafes and bakeries. We also had some wonderful dining experiences, which allowed me to build friendships with the people I would end up spending most of my Copenhagen time with.

Gothenburg was really the perfect introduction to traveling abroad and remains one of my favorite trips.

Advice to my future self: Always say yes to the little weekend adventures.